Japan’s former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa, left, listens to former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi giving a speech in support of him as he kicks off his Tokyo gubernatorial election campaign in Tokyo, Jan. 23.

Former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s voice boomed through the speakers as he addressed the crowd gathered around the campaign truck parked in front of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government building. Delivering his speech with animated gestures, it was apparent that the sprightly 72-year-old hadn’t lost his knack for political theatrics that helped propel him to premiership over a decade ago.

Campaigning for the Tokyo gubernatorial election officially began Thursday, with candidates taking to the streets on soundtrucks adorned with banners in what’s become a common feature in Japan during election season.

The registered candidates have 17 days to battle it out in a race that’s looking to become a mandate on nuclear power, largely due to the high-profile presence of the Hosokawa-Koizumi septuagenarian duo who have vehemently called against Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s pro-nuclear energy policy.

“I harbor a strong sense of crisis toward the government’s position that restarting nuclear reactors are necessary for growth,” Mr. Hosokawa, 76, told a crowd of few hundred that gathered to listen to his first speech of the campaign. “That, and having my back pushed by Mr. Koizumi who is here with me today became the catalyst for my candidacy,” he said.

The two ex-premiers have been calling against restarting the nation’s 50 idled reactors, something the government plans to do once they are deemed to comply with new safety standards introduced after the March 2011 Fukushima nuclear accident. The government wants to keep nuclear power in the energy mix to ease Japan’s reliance on imported fossil fuels, while public opinion has tilted toward ending the nation’s dependence on atomic power.

Before the 2011 Fukushima crisis, nuclear power generated about a third of Japan’s electricity, and Tokyo alone accounts for 10% of the nation’s total electricity consumption.

While it remains unclear what leverage the new Tokyo governor could have on the nation’s energy policy, Mr. Hosokawa aims to tap the antinuclear electorate with the full-fledged support of the media-savvy Mr. Koizumi to get himself elected on Feb. 9. Telling of his reliance on Mr. Koizumi is Mr. Hosokawa’s recently launched campaign website which prominently features the two on its landing page.

But he may need more than big concepts and the backing of the popular ex-premier to convince Tokyo’s 13 million electorate, a majority of whom are unaffiliated swing voters like Haruyuki Kato, who was present at the rally.

“I need to listen to more details of his policies before I make a decision on who to vote,” the 61-year-old from Tokyo’s Suginami Ward said. Mr. Kato, self-employed and who said he was against nuclear power, said he was initially planning to vote for candidate Kenji Utsunomiya, the former president of the Japan Federation of Bar Associations who is also against any reactor restarts.

“Now with Mr. Hosokawa in the game, I don’t know … in either case I welcome how energy issues have become the focus of the election,” he said, adding that in the coming days he planned to listen in on stump speeches by other candidates including former Health Minister Yoichi Masuzoe, who is running as an independent with the support of Mr. Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

An opinion poll taken by the Tokyo Shimbun newspaper on Jan. 10-12 showed that Mr. Masuzoe was the front-runner, followed by Mr. Hosokawa and Mr. Utsunomiya. Half of the 1,012 voters surveyed, however, declined to respond or said they hadn’t reached a decision.

Maybe the US Physicians should call GENERAL ELECTRIC who designed the nuclear plants that failed and the US GOVERNMENT that taunted Japanese government into building nuclear power plants in the first place, so that they could sell that SHYT to someone... because no city in the USA wanted that SHYT from GENERAL ELECTRIC.

6:37 am January 24, 2014

Hiroshi Suzuki wrote:

US Physicians Claim Radiation Risks Due to the Fukushima Nuclear Accident
January 22, 2014 Wall Street Journal
United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation report failed to accurately portray the true extent of radiation exposure, ignored the ongoing radioactive emissions, and excluded non-cancer effects of radiation.

It is typical tautology to state, 'Since radiation-induced cancers are indistinguishable from cancers caused by other causes, in the case of Fukushima, increase in cancer attributable to radiation exposure is NOT expected'. (Tautology refers to repetition of synonymous words, guaranteeing the truth of the proposition in rhetoric).

Meanwhile, briefings at the Fourth Committee of United Nations General Assembly suggested unspoken pressure on United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation by the Japanese government.

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